Picker stick control strap



Dec. 17, 1963 c. R. MESSER 3,114,397

PICKER STICK CONTROL STRAP Filed April 4, 1963 INVENTOR CHESTER R. MESSER ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,114,397 PICKER STICK CONTROL STRAP Chester R. Messer, Concord, N.H., assigner to Page Belting Company, Concord, N.H., a corporation of New Hampshire Fiied Apr. 4, 1963, Ser. No. 270,629 Claims. (Cl. 139-161) This invention comprises a neW and improved check control strap assembly of the type having a Ushaped 100p slidable upon a fixed guide rod under the action of the picker stick which is c0nfined and limited in its stroke by the loop.

Check straps of this tape are subjected to very severe duty and for many years the textile industry has devoted extensive research and development etfort to increasing the life of the strap. Every advance in that direction is of great importance as it permits the employment of looms operating at increased speed and reduces down time in the plant. I have discovered structural improvements which are effective to increase the life and efliciency of such control strap assemblies and are therefore of great importance and unexpected benefit to the textile industry.

The assembiy employs a Ushaped 100p of superposed straps perforated near both ends to receive and slide longitudinally upon the guide rod. One of these straps consists of heavy textile webbing and the ends of this strap are rigidly clamped against bending in the area between the perforation and the end of the strap. In the vicinity of the perforation and inwardly therefrom the strap is free to bend and is flexed in every stroke of the picker stick. Wear of the strap is thus concentrated at the perforation and in practice heretofore the hole has become elongated and the desired retarding friction between the strap and guide rod largely lost. Attempts to harden this area of the strap have been unsuocessful in the past becanse they have tended t0 render brittle the material of the strap adjacent to circumference of its perforation.

I have discovered however that by impregnafiing a selected area of the strap W-ith a stifiening compound while leaving the strap unhardened about the sides and inner edge of its perforation a very substantial, desirable and unexpected improvement is achieved in respect to the life of the strap and the assembly of which it is a part. If the entire surrounding area of the strap about its perforation is hardened it becomes brittle and Will crumifle away in use. However, if the strap is hardened only in an area which includes the outer edge of the perforation this area is rigidly clamped and not subjected to a cmmbling fiexing. Meanwhile, the area of the strap end beyond the aperture is left unhardened and free to flex in the normal operation of the check control device. In one aspect therefore the invention comprises a control strap of textile material impregnated With a stitening compound in an area between its perforation and the end of the strap While leaving the strap unstiIened against transverse bending at its perforation and inwardly therefrom along the length of the strap.

These and other features of the invention Will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanving drawings, in which- FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a complete picker stick control strap assembly,

FIG. 2 is a fragmentarv view on an enlarged scale of the treated end of the strap, and

FIG. 3 is a similar view showing an alternative pattern of stiiening treatment.

As herein shown the assembly includes a metal guide rod1 having a centrally disposed lug 11 by which the rod 3,114,397 Patented Dec. 17, 1963 is supported in horizontal position from a part of the 10cm frame. At each end the rod 10 carries an attached bumper head 12 and movable upon the rod between these two heads is the loopedshaped body of the control strap. This comprises a pair of superposed straps 13 and 14 of which the outer strap 13 is formed of heavy laminated Webbing such as rubberized canvas and the inner strap 14 may be of high grade flexible leathr oneeighth -to one-fourth inch in thickness thereabout. At one or both ends of the p the straps :13 and 14 are reinforced by an overlying'helper 15 inside the 100p tending somewhat t0 cushion the impact of the picker stick. As herein shown a perforated clamping plate 16 is inserted between the ends of the straps. The straps 13 and 14 together With the helper 15 and clamping plates 16 are perforatcd to fit loosely -upon the rod 10 so that the 100p as a whole may slide back and forth in checking the swing of-the picker stick. One end of the strap 13 is shown in FIG. 2.

The ends of the straps '13 and 14 extend beyond the rod 10 and are bound' together by rivets 17. Their free ends are connected by a strap 18 which extends between hooks 19 having shanks which pass through the straps and are heid in position by heads 20.

In FIG. 2 is shown one end of the strap 13 having a circular aperture 21 for the reception et the rod 10 and holes 17 and 19' for the rivets 17 and the hooks 19. As indicated in FIG. 2 the end of the strap is provided With a hardened area 22 which extends from the outer edge of the aperture 21 as a band of uniform width to the end of the strap. This hardened area is included in the end portion of the strap which is clamped rigidly against bending by the rivets 17 and the plates 16. The stif fened area 22 however does not extend beyond the rigidly clamped strap ends and terminates at the aperture 21 so as to -offer no resistance to the flexing of the straps inwardly from the aperture 21.

In FIG. 3 is shown a stifened area 22 which is equally as effective and satisfactory as the area 22. It extends from the outer edge of the aperture 21' to the end of the strap but spreads in fan-shape so as to include the holes 19" and the full width of the end of the strap beyond these perforations.

In order to free the hardened area 22 from bending stress it has been found desirahle to provide short iongitudinal slits 23 in the strap 13 at each side of the aperture 21. The bending line of the strap, as indicated in FIG. 2 by dotted limes, is chus located entirely beyond the hardened area 22 and beyond the laminated portion of the strap which is rigidly clamped by the rivets 17.

The areas 22 and 22. may be hardened by an impregnation with phenol formaldehyde, carnaba Wax, or any suitable compound or synthetic resin. One satisfactorv thermoplastic compound is:

Percent Montan wax 20 Calcium resinate 20 Candelilla wax 20 Rosin 30 Rubber 10 The area to be hardened in the strap may be set off by profile clamping plates or templets and the strap immersed in a hot solution of the stiffening compound until the exposed area is fully impregnated. For driving the impregnant into the fabric of the strap compressed air or hydraulic pressure may be advantageously employed.

Another stifiening impregnant of satisfactory character is polyurethane of high molecular weight. In using any of these impregnants it may be found desirable to include the inner edge of the recess 21 sufficiently to coat the ends of the fa1bric strands exposed at this point.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail an illustrative embodiment thereof, I daim and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A picker stick control strap assembly comprising a U-shaped 100p composed of superposed straps perforated near both ends and bodily siidable upon a guide rod, one of said straps being of heavy textile webbing impregnated With a stiftening compound oniy in a longitudinal area of the strap which is substantially the same width as the diameter of its perforation and which extends only from the said perforation to the adjacent end of the strap.

2. A picker stick control strap comprising a U-shaped looped of superposed straps perforated near both ends to receive :3. guide rod, means for clamping the end portions of the superposed straps against bending and narrow areas in one of said straps which are impregnated with a stifiening compound and confined wholly within the clamped end portions of the strap.

3. A picker stick control device comprising inner and outer straps superposed in U-shaped formation, and having their end portions clamped rigidly against transverse bending, the said straps being perforated inwardly of their clamped end portions, and the outer of said straps being impregnated With a stiffening compound in an area be- (l tween its perforation and the end of the strap while ieaving the strap unstifened against transverse bending at its perforation and inwardly therefrom along the iength of the strap.

4. A picker stick control device comprising a pair of straps superposed in U-shaped formation and perforated at a distance within each end to receive a guide rod, means for clamping the end portions of the straps against transverse bending and a fan-shaped area in one strap impregnated with a stifiening compound and extending from the outer side of its perforation in divergent fashion throughout the clamped end of the strap.

5. A picker stick control device as described in claim 4, further :characterized in that the stiffened area of the strap includes the outer edge of the perforation therein while the sides and inner edge of the perforation remain unsfiiffened.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,435,749 Lesesne Feb. 10, 1948 2,666,455 Gravitt Jan. 19, 1954 2,682,896 Meservey July 6, 1954 2,855,004 Shivell Oct. 7, 195 

1. A PICKER STICK CONTROL STRAP ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A U-SHAPED LOOP COMPOSED OF SUPERPOSED STRAPS PERFORATED NEAR BOTH ENDS AND BODILY SLIDABLE UPON A GUIDE ROD, ONE OF SAID STRAPS BEING OF HEAVY TEXTILE WEBBING IMPREGNATED WITH A STIFFENING COMPOUND ONLY IN A LONGITUDINAL AREA OF THE STRAP WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME WIDTH AS THE DIAMETER OF ITS PERFORATION AND WHICH EXTENDS ONLY FROM THE SAID PERFORATION TO THE ADJACENT END OF THE STRAP. 